I have a confession to make: I've failed to vote in the past. More than once.

I wish I could chalk it up to laziness, but that wasn't why I blew those opportunities to exercise my civic rights. The reason — one that's probably shared by too many other no-shows at the polls — was that I felt that I couldn't make a difference.

Guess what? I didn't.

Instead, I wasted a lot of energy grumbling about this and griping about that. Then, if an election didn't turn out the way I'd wanted, I'd feel betrayed and complain even more. In some confused fashion, I thought that withdrawing — rather than participating — was the best way to prompt change.

Not terribly productive. In fact, my attitude seems incredibly childish now. Unfortunately, however, I'm not the first person to feel estranged from our political system.

To the cynics out there, believe me, I understand the reasons for your cynicism. I'm not trying to argue that your vote will make a difference. I'll leave that people who are far more informed on the subject.

But here's what I learned from my civic negligence: Casting my ballot feels good. It's empowering. It's hopeful. It's productive. I get to have my say. Who knows, in a close races, maybe my vote actually does make a difference. Or, given the recent voting machine snafus, maybe not. I really don't know.

Regardless, it's clear to me that I have more peace of mind when I vote. Casting a ballot lets me feel responsible and, in some personally significant way, more powerful. It's much better than grumbling.

If you're doing some last minute surfing about the election, Grist.org has the lowdown on the major environmental issues and politicians this year. Yahoo has several links and resources for local elections. Project Vote Smart has non-partisan information about the candidates.